A Virginia farmer, in a letter of December 1847, in speaking of using
plaster with guano, and the effect says--"I am a firm believer in the
merits of the mixture, and always use it. I have used it on turnips with
decided effect, as decided as that following any application of guano I
ever saw. Several farmers of my acquaintance used the mixture of guano
and plaster, and stable manure and plaster habitually, like myself, and
one told me he used it half and half, producing the most marked effect
on wheat, and that a neighbor of his had used it in the same proportion
with the same effect--the usual surprising effect of guano. For myself,
I used some $400 worth of guano on wheat this fall, the whole of it
mixed with plaster. I believe the effect of the mixture will not be so
vigorous on the first crop, as guano by itself--the plaster husbanding
the ammonia for succeeding crops, upon which the mixture, (if the theory
be correct,) will have more effect than guano unmixed, that being
exhausted by the first crop."
A gentleman after making sundry careful experiments with plaster and
carbonate of ammonia, thus expresses his conclusions--"These experiments
prove to me that no matter in what state, (whether _wet_, _moist_, or
_dry_,) plaster is presented to guano, or any other manure from which
the carbonate of ammonia is escaping, it must retain a certain amount of
ammonia that would otherwise be lost in the atmosphere."
The editor of the American Farmer says--"If the soil be poor, and it be
desired to permanently improve it, at least four hundred pounds of
guano, without respect to the fixer used, should be spread _broadcast_,
on every acre of it, and plowed in to the full depth of the furrow. If
the land be in moderate heart, three hundred pounds will be enough per
acre. Where the soil may be good, two hundred will be sufficient. These
quantities, as the reader will observe, have relation to broadcast
applications, as all should be where general improvement is
contemplated; if compelled to confine his experiments on corn to
applications in the hill, a form of manuring, we have ever disapproved,
two hundred pounds, or even one hundred of guano, will manure an acre,
mixed with a bushel of plaster, five bushels of slaked ashes, and a
double horse cart of wood mould more effective than ten loads of manure
applied in the hill."
Yes, as has been proved by careful experiment made in England, more than
fourteen tons of manure. The editor also says, what we have so often
repeated--"We hold these to be agricultural truths--that guano is most
beneficially applied, when ploughed in as spread on the the earth, never
less than four inches deep--and better, for permanent effect, to be
ploughed in deeper, say six to eight inches--where it may be desirable
only to bury it four inches deep, the land should be previously ploughed
as deep as the furrow can be turned up, and the guano applied at a
second ploughing--that all top-dressings with guano are wasteful,
inasmuch, as from the volatile nature of the more active parts of the
manure, great loss must inevitably result from all such applications,
and because, more moisture than is to be found on the surface, is
necessary to excite, and carry on, that healthful progressive state of
decomposition, which is required to render guano most available for
present production and future improvement.
"We do not hesitate to express the opinion, that when properly used, as
an adjunct to lime or marl, that it will bring up any sound worn out
land, to at least its original degree, if not a greater degree of
fertility; provided its application be followed by clover. We believe
that, when properly applied to land, either limed or marled the previous
year, it will add twenty-five, thirty, and, in some instances, forty per
cent. to the product of wheat; besides infusing into the soil, the
capacity to grow luxuriant crops of clover, and thus fit it for
profitable future culture. If it will do this, and we are certain it
will, then it will achieve all that any agriculturist can reasonably
expect of it, or of any other fertilizing agent; and we are very sure
there is no other manure equally efficacious, within the reach of
farmers and planters.
"Guano differs much in quality; that from Peru, is confessedly best of
any which has yet been submitted to actual experiment by agriculturists,
or tested by the analysis of chemists, being much richer in its
nitrogenous element, than either the Patagonian or African variety."
He also says--"400 lbs. of guano and 1 bushel of plaster, will ensure a
good crop of corn, so will 200 lbs. guano and eight bushels of bone
earth, or 20 bushels of bone earth, 10 bushels of ashes and 1 bushel of
plaster. Each to be ploughed in."
Much more might be said in favor of using plaster with guano, or some
other fixer of ammonia, wherever it is exposed, on or near the surface.
We add a few more extracts mainly to show that deep ploughing, and
plentiful manuring, are the sure guarantee of bountiful crops.
Bone-dust, except when used in the drill, should always be harrowed in.
It should be put in bulk with other matters, and excited into an
incipient state of decomposition before being used.
Guano should always be ploughed in, if practicable. Harrowing and
cultivating in guano "have been practised both in this country and in
England, by intelligent farmers; and in various instances have been
spoken approvingly of, success having attended such applications in
single crops; but we doubt whether much, if any permanent benefit were
done to the soil, in qualifying it for the production of the subsequent
crops of a course of rotation. In Peru it is used topically, but such
applications are always followed by immediate irrigations of the soils
to which it is applied, the Peruvians acting upon the philosophical
principal, whether they comprehend its theory or not, that to secure the
nutrient properties of this active fertilizer to their growing crops, it
is essential that they provide an absorbent, and that they find in the
water furnished by their processes of irrigation. Experience, practice,
and irrigation have taught them, that unless they cause the carbonate of
ammonia, and the various compound substances with which it exists in the
guano, to descend speedily to the roots of their plants, that from the
volatility of its more active and efficient elements, they will be
expelled by the heat of the sun, escape into the air, and be lost for
all the purposes of vegetable growth.
"But in view of the whole ground, taking into consideration the
evanescent nature of any ammonia in guano in the compounds in which it
exists, to be converted into that form, we honestly believe, that so far
as lasting benefit to the land may be concerned, guano should be
ploughed in.
"In all tolerably good Guano, there is a sufficiency of the carbonate
already formed to carry on healthful vegetation, and therefore, it is
best to place it sufficiently deep to prevent the waste of an element so
essential to the growth of plants, and so liable to loss.
"It is possible where the soil had been, by repeated harrowings, reduced
to a state of very fine tilth, that guano may be covered sufficiently
deep with the Cultivator to become mixed with, and consequently be
absorbed by the vegetable remains of the earth, and thus be prevented
from loss by escape of its volatile gases; especially would this be the
case, if the process of cultivating it in, were soon after followed by
penetrating rains. In admitting this, we still adhere to the opinion,
that so far as permanent benefits are concerned, the most economical
mode of applying guano to the earth, is by the plough.
"As soon as the guano is ploughed in, the wheat should be sowed and
harrowed in, in the usual way. In our climate we can sow wheat on the
poorest corn ground late in November and have as fine a crop, and
harvest it as soon, as we can obtain from well prepared and fallowed
without guano sowed early in the season, For every 100 lbs. of guano,
not exceeding 250 lbs. we calculate on reaping of an average season from
six to seven bushels, sometimes eight. From a greater quantity though
the product will be increased, yet it will not be increased in the same
proportion, and 200 lbs will also be sufficient for the production of
two good grass crops following the wheat and will then leave the land in
an improved condition."
_Charcoal and Guano._--The benefit of charcoal with guano will be
understood from the following extract from "Scientific Agriculture," on
the nature of charcoal and its use as a manure.--"Charcoal on account of
its power of absorbing gases and destroying offensive odors, is a
valuable addition to the soil; its operation as a manure is not so
direct as some other manures; that is, it is not so useful on account of
any element it furnishes to plants, as by the intermediate office which
it performs, of absorbing and retaining in the soil those volatile
matters which plants require, and which would otherwise escape and be
lost. It is beneficial as a top-dressing, and as an ingredient in
composts; it evolves carbonic acid in its decomposition, and is in this
way directly useful to plants. Its powerful antiseptic properties
render it very useful to young and tender plants, by keeping the soil
free of putrifying substances, which would otherwise destroy their
spongioles and prevent their growth."
And its capacity to absorb many times its bulk of gaseous matter, will
always give it value as an absorbent of escaping ammonia from surface
dressings of guano.
The editor of the Farmer also says--"In our climate, we should be
opposed to all topical applications of any strongly concentrated manure
like guano by itself,--and, indeed we should, under all circumstances,
prefer to have it ploughed in, if practicable; but as we presume our
correspondent has been prevented by circumstances, from using guano at
the time of ploughing for wheat; and of course, must avail himself of
the next best plan of deriving benefit from its use, we would advise,
him next spring, as soon as the frost is out of the ground, and it is in
a state to bear a team; to mix, in the proportion of 100 lbs. of guano,
one bushel of fine charcoal, and one peck of plaster per acre, then to
sow the mixture over his wheat field, lightly harrow the ground, and
finish by rolling; and we have no hesitation in saying, that his wheat
crop will be benefitted more than twice the cost of the manure. We say
to him farther that he need not fear injuring his wheat plants by the
operation of harrowing and rolling; for, on the contrary, it will act as
a working, and prove of decided advantage. We feel very certain that the
admixture of charcoal and plaster with guano, together with the covering
it will receive by the harrowing, will prevent any material loss of the
ammoniacal principles of the latter; as independent of the affinity
existing between charcoal, plaster, and all nitrogeneous bodies, they
will be greatly aided by the vital principle of the plants themselves.
We are not, however, left to the lights of theory alone, in this matter,
but have the experience of the Honorable Mr. Pearce, of Kent county, of
this State, to guide us to a practical result,--he used, some years
since, a top-dressing of guano and plaster upon his wheat field, and was
rewarded by a large increase of crop."
A correspondent says--"I am satisfied from experience and observation in
the use of guano for the last twelve years, that the best method,
decidedly, of applying it to our crops in this dry climate, is to plow
and spade it into the ground; and autumn is the best season for doing
this, as it gives time for the pungent salts contained in the guano to
get thoroughly mixed with the soil before spring planting. Do not fear
to lose the guano, by plowing it as deep as you please--it will not run
away, depend upon it. At the south it loses half its virtue if not
plowed in at least three inches deep; six to twelve inches would be
still better.
"Spread broadcast on grass land, late in the fall or early in the spring,
if not plowed in before sowing buckwheat, rye or wheat, then spread it
broadcast after sowing the grain, and harrow well and roll the land.
This last operation is quite important."
_Value of Guano on account of its Phosphates._--He who wishes to have
the best grazing grounds, where he can present the richest and most
nutritious herbage to his cattle, will keep his ground well supplied or
manured with guano that abounds in phosphates, knowing that it will
supply the needed nutriment to the grass, and by the grass to the
cattle; and thus his stock will be kept in a high condition and full
flesh, either for the farm or the market.
Again; he who raises wheat, corn, or other grains, has an equal
inducement to look to it that his manures are abundantly impregnated
with these essential elements. Phosphates, so available to the raiser of
stock, are equally so to the producer of grain; because the size,
richness, and nutritious qualities of the grain depend largely on the
presence of these in the soil. A farmer, therefore, has a vital interest
in this matter, and should obtain what best suits his purpose. The most
intelligent English farmers are so well convinced on this point, that
substances containing only ten per cent. of phosphate of lime, are
sought after, dissolved in sulphuric acid and water, and sprinkled on
the soil. Bone dust also is used, and to a certain extent, is available,
because one of the principal constituents of bones, is phosphate of
lime. But the article in which the phosphates are the most convenient,
because the most minutely distributed, is guano; and this, when
judiciously used, must find favor wherever it can be obtained.
That which contains a large proportion of phosphates, in combination
with ammonia, nitrogen and alkaline salts, apparently in the exact
proportion required by nature, such as analysis and experience proves is
the case with Peruvian guano, will be sought after by every farmer who
reads the evidence of its value which we have given in these pages.
It is idle to talk of bones to restore the waste of phosphates in the
soil that is being constantly carried away in grass and grain, beef,
pork, mutton, milk and cheese, much of which passes into the sea from
the sewers of cities, to be there retained in that great reservoir for
the future use of men. It is from that we are now drawing our present
supplies. Happily for mankind in all civilized countries, the discovery
of guano has, in a providential manner, met the very wants of the times,
in reference to the reinvigoration of certain kinds of soil, since this
manure furnishes the elements most needed to supply the waste arising
from cultivation, and to develop vegetation.
The impossibility of procuring bones enough to supply the wants of the
comparative few now engaged in using guano, may be readily learned by
any farmer who uses ten tons of guano per annum, if he will undertake to
"pick up bones" enough to furnish him the same amount of phosphates
contained in that quantity of guano. Then if all who are now using it,
would drop guano and take to bones, it would soon be found to be hard
picking. Save all the bones and apply them to the soil, is a standing
text with us; upon the same soil use all the guano your can procure and
you will not need to pick bones--you will grow bones to pick. It may be
very patriotic to talk about expending the money at home, for bones,
instead of sending it to Peru, for guano; but that talk is all for
Buncombe, there is not a particle of sound reason in it. If all the
bones in the United States could be saved and applied to the land again,
we should still fall short of a supply, and be obliged to do as England
did before the introduction of guano; go about and ransack grave yards
of great battlefields, for more bones. With all the guano imported, or
that will be imported, and all the bones that will be saved, there will
still be room for more phosphates in the millions of acres of hungry
soil in America. What would be the effect if a few such farms as
Willoughby Newton's, and Col. Carter's, who each use 30 to 40 tons per
annum of guano, should come all at once into the bone market for their
supplies. In our opinion there would be such a rattling among the dry
bones, we should hear no more about substituting them for guano. The
fact is an incontrovertible one, that nothing on earth nor under the
earth, or in the sea, has ever been discovered, which can be used as a
substitute for guano. Its small bulk is alone sufficient to commend it
to favor.
The Royal Agricultural Society of England offers a prize of £1,000 and
the gold medal of the society, for the discovery of a manure with equal
fertilizing properties to the guano, of which an unlimited supply can be
furnished in England, at £5 per ton.
"_Analogy between Bones and Guano._--There is a striking analogy in
composition between bones and guano, which is, for other reasons
interesting to the practical man.
The following table exhibits the composition of bones compared with
guano, supposing both in the dry state. Bones, as they are applied to to
the land contain about 18 per cent. of water. Ichaboe guano from 20 to
25 per cent.
_Bones._ _Guano._
Organic animal matter, 33 56
Phosphates of lime and magnesia, 59 26
Carbonate of lime, 4 6
Salts of soda, 4 10
Salts of potash, trace trace
Silicious matter 0 2
---- ----
100 100"
And these substances are found in guano already in a pulverulent state,
while bones have to be reduced by mechanical or chemical means to the
same condition before they are of any use as manure. Do not, we again
repeat most emphatically, do not waste a bone; dissolve all you can get
in sulphuric acid and mix with guano--save and make all the manure
possible, both by the stable, compost heap and green crops, and then you
will have money to buy guano, by which you can save the immense labor of
hauling to distant fields, and still have the satisfaction of seeing
them as fertile as those highly manured near home.
When the farmer raises crops for sale, and removes his grain and grasses
from the land, he sells a portion of his soil; and if he does not renew
in some way the saline matters taken away in his crops, he invariably
impoverishes his farm. This work of exhaustion is now going on to an
alarming extent, and the prolific wheat lands are to be searched for
farther and farther westward as the operation proceeds.
Every one knows the superiority of wheat grown on newly cultivated
lands, and most farmers are aware of the fact that soils become
exhausted of something, they know not what, but of something essential
to the most favorable production of grain. This something is found in
guano, and by it the original fertility of land can be more easily, more
certainly and cheaply restored than by any other means as yet
discovered.
Professor Mapes in one of his letters of advice says; "As no farm, under
ordinary usage, will supply as much manure as may be used upon it with
profit, I am glad you intend to use guano, as it is an admirable manure,
replete with many requirements of plants. The ammonia of the guano is in
the form of a carbonate, and therefore so volatile as to escape from the
soil into the atmosphere before plants can use it.
"You will readily perceive, therefore, that the sulphuric and phosphoric
acids require amendments, and the ammonia should be changed from a
carbonate to a sulphate of ammonia, which is not volatile. All this may
be readily done by dissolving bone dust in dilute sulphuric acid, mixing
it with the guano, and then with a sufficient amount of charcoal dust to
render the mass dry and pulverulent. The more charcoal dust the better,
as it absorbs and retains ammonia, and after it is in the soil, will
continue to perform similar offices for many years, only yielding up
ammonia as required by plants, and receiving new portions from rains,
dews, &c."
If used as a top dressing, this change from a carbonate to a sulphate
may be necessary; but not so if well mixed with the soil, particularly
one in which clay predominates. In such a soil it is not even necessary
to adhere to the direction to plow the guano deeply under. If it is but
slightly harrowed in, the nature of the clay is such it will prevent
the escape of the ammonia. If you require phosphates, more than
ammonia, add the superphosphate of lime; but in no case omit the guano.
_Use of Salt with Guano._--Common salt at the rate of a bushel to 100
lbs. of guano, well mixed, may be used to good advantage either as a top
dressing, or when plowed in. The effect of the muriatic acid of the salt
upon the guano will be, as both are dissolved in the earth, or by dews
and rains, to form muriate of ammonia, which is not volatile;
consequently the salt prevents loss by exhaustion, which is sure to take
place when the guano is used as a top dressing, unless prevented by
something to act as a fixer of the ammonia.
The wisdom of this law of nature in making the most precious saline
manure a fixed and difficultly soluble salt, is at once obvious; for it
is thus kept always ready in the soil for the plants to act upon
according to their need. If we cut plants down before the seeds form, we
have all the phosphates the plants contain diffused throughout them, and
if we allow the seed to ripen, the phosphates, as before observed, will
be found mostly in the seed. We find them in the state of phosphate of
potash, phosphate of soda, phosphate of magnesia, and phosphate of lime,
and probably, also, phosphate of ammonia. Now all these salts are
essential to the growth and sustenance of animals, and without them
grain would cease to be sufficient.
The necessity of restoring inorganic substances to the soil, may be
better understood by examining the following table:
Mr. Prixdeaux states that the following quantities (of inorganic
matters) are removed from an acre of soil by a crop of wheat, of 25
bushels of grain, and 3000 lbs. of straw--
_By the grain._ _By the straw._ _Total._
lbs. lbs. lbs.
Potash, 7.15 22.44 29.59
Soda, 2.73 0.29 3.02
Magnesia, 3.63 6.99 10.62
Phosphoric acid, 15.02 5.54 20.56
Sulphuric acid, 0.07 10.49 10.56
Chlorine 0.00 1.98 1.98
---- ---- ----
28.60 47.73